26 Aug Your ZIP code may determine your dementia diagnosis, study finds

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

(CNN) – Imagine: You and your sister are 66-year-old twins on Medicare who share the same family history of Alzheimer’s disease, making an early diagnosis critical for long-term planning and preventive health care. Since Medicare provides coverage for a cognitive screening as part of each year’s wellness visit, you believe that diagnosis, if needed, will occur.

Let’s say you live in Hartford, Connecticut. Your sister is some 26 miles away in Springfield, Massachusetts — so close that you often share Sunday dinners. Yet according to a new study, you are 18% more likely to obtain a diagnosis of dementia in Hartford than your sister in Springfield. Read more…